no.55 may june:layout 1 mayjun.pdfmostly bum check and sonnets “in pure cubic centimeter,” was...

TheOldRadioTimesThe Official Publication ofthe Old-Time Radio Researchers

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May/June 2011 www.otrr.org 2200 Subscribers Number 55

DUFFY’S TAVERN: YEAR ONEby Martin Grams,Jr. ©2011

Early radio broadcasting required fine-tuning-- and not the kind that came from dial twitching.Case in point: June 26, 1931. NBC presented“The Fearful Seven,” the tale of Merton Mothand his noiseless glider, Michael Mosquito --brief glimpses into the home lives of Fanny Fly,Frankie Flea, Grand Roach and their friends.The NBC offering was promised to be a comedy,and ensured newspaper columnists that thecomedy element would predominate the produc-tion. There was nothing funny with the story, andradio, had it not already established itself as amedium of music, news, prayer and commen-tary, might have been doomed as a result of dis-astrous broadcasts such as this. If radioaudiences wanted authentic laughter from aweekly, half-hour program, what they neededwas Ed Gardner. It would not be until ten yearslater that Duffy’s Tavern would usher in a newform of comedy entertainment.

As the genially sarcastic, ever-hopeful conman Archie -- who never had a last name, evenas Duffy himself was never seen -- he definedthe cynical second-generation Irishman at theouter fringe of New York’s social order. The pro-gram fast developed a following that crossed so-cial, economic and geographical boundaries.Duffy’s Tavern ranked with Fred Allen’s programas broad an appeal as the goofiest slapstickcomedies on the air.

Archie was the pivot of the establishment, buthe was not alone there. Always on hand werethe absent proprietor’s gabby, man-hungry

Photo credit Dan Reidstra

Ed Gardner

daughter, known simply as Miss Duffy, whospoke in pure Brooklynese, and the waiterEddie, a shrewd black menial who obeyed with“Yazzuh” but always got the better of his boss intheir verbal exchanges. Habitués included CliftonFinnegan (who did not appear on the programuntil season two), a moron with occasionalflashes of brilliance whose every line began with“Duhhh,” and radio veteran Colonel Stoopnagle,the orotund inventor of such useful devices asthe 10-foot pole, “for guys who wouldn’t touchwith one,” and the gun with two barrels, one toshoot ducks with and the other, which didn’twork, to not shoot other hunters with.Crackpot O’Toole, forger and poet who wrote

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mostly bum check and sonnets “in pure cubiccentimeter,” was another Duffy’s regular. Notheard but often discussed was Two-Top Gruskin,a two-headed baseball player whose value to histeam was that he could watch first and third atthe same time. Two-Top (whose real name wasAthos and Porthos Gruskin) once went to a mas-querade ball as a pair of bookends and won theaffections of a pretty girl because he was a tallblond and brunette. “There was just somethingdifferent about him,” she explained. OfficerClancy made frequent visits, usually threateningto close the place for some petty violation, everthwarted by Archie’s logical argument: “You can’tclose us up. We aint’ got a license.”

Archie wasn’t otherwise so successful with hisunceasing efforts to con or exploit his guests.When smooth-talking Slippery McGuire, seekingto beat his bar tab, suggested to Archie how hecan make a fortune by patenting electricity,Archie pays him $10 to register the patent. Aftercoughing up another $3 to print stock certificatesand $5 more to include DC along with AC, hebelieves himself the King of Kilowatts, eventhough Eddie is doubtful (“I always connectedyou more with natural gas”). The plans fallsthrough when Archie learns that BenjaminFranklin had beaten him to the patent, but Slip-

pery launches him on a new career by informinghim that Franklin had carelessly forgotten totake one out on the kite.

The long-running radio program moved pro-duction to Puerto Rico in 1949 to take advan-tage of a tax exemption the island gave to newindustries, although the Third Avenue setting re-mained the same. But the stellar guests whohad once regularly visited Duffy’s didn’t care totravel so far for a broadcast, and the program’sratings fell precipitously.

Duffy’s Tavern was the brain child of EdGardner, a former executive for an advertisingagency, later responsible for such radio pro-grams as Ripley’s Believe-It-Or-Not and The JoePenner Show. The radio comedy retained a pop-ularity large enough to spawn a stage play(1948), a major motion picture (1945) and ashort-run television program (1952) plus two ex-perimental pilots (1947 and 1949).

The success of Duffy’s Tavern was depend-ent on the gag writers for the program. The firsttwo seasons consisted of three writers: MacBenoff, Parke Levy and Abe Burrows. Havingread every radio script, this author can verifythat the funniest scripts are definitely the earliestbroadcasts. But the program was doomed whenBurrows and the other writers were unable tocreate enough scenarios to keep the programfresh. By late 1942, they had already begun re-cycling their plot devices: Archie tries to sell fakejewelry to Finnegan; Archie writes a pageantabout American history; and the plot most oftenused… Archie entertains Mrs. Cornelia Piddle-ton (occasionally spelled “Pittleton” dependingon which scripts you consult) and her LordByron Ladies’ Literary Society and, after losinghis guest speaker, attempts to pawn offFinnegan as the celebrated presenter. The pro-gram's saving grace began with the third sea-son, when Duffy's Tavern made the move to

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Hollywood and celebrities began making guestappearances. Archie and the cast were able topoke fun of the celebrities as they did in the firstseason. (The move to Puerto Rico in 1949 didn'thelp any, and proved a disaster, ultimately forc-ing NBC to make the decision to axe the pro-gram for good.)

Regardless of what past encyclopedias re-port, the July 1940 broadcast of Forecast failedto gain the immediate attention of a sponsor.The network, hoping to sell a number of studio-created in-house programs without the need ofan advertising agency, made arrangements forevery broadcast of Forecast to be transcribed, incase the program could later be sampled by apotential sponsor. It wasn’t until months laterthat Forecast ultimately helped convince theMagazine Repeating Razor Company to sponsorthe program, thanks to the efforts of the J.M.Mathes Advertising Agency (who knew that Mag-azine wanted to hock their product, SchickRazor, on the radio). In September of 1940, twotranscription discs were cut from Forecast andexecutives at Mathes circulated one recording topotential sponsors, while retaining the duplicateas a master backup.

The initial contract between the sponsor andthe network stipulated a 16-week sponsorshipfrom March 1, 1941 to June 14, 1941, which wasa bit unusual since most contracts with the net-work were placed on a 13-week schedule (13times 4 equals 52). Since it was proven that lis-tenership was at the lowest during what wasgenerally considered vacation time, 13 weeks inthe summer were usually dedicated to a differentradio program, paid for by the same sponsor, butfor a cheaper price.

To attract new listeners, at the suggestion ofthe network, the first season featured at leastone celebrity guest every week. Under the samecontract, CBS had the option of approval when

choosing the celebrities. Obviously, the networkmade sure that no celebrity appearing on Duffy’sTavern would cross-promote a radio programpresently heard over a competing network.Celebrities include Parks Johnson and WallyButterwroth, hosts Vox Pop; Colonel Stoopnaglewas the weekly host of Quixie-Doodles; bothprograms aired over CBS. At the time PaulLukas, Hildegarde, Milton Berle and OrsonWelles were making their guest appearances,they were not presently committed to a radioprogram on the rival networks. And for thebroadcast of June 7, 1941, certainly a major in-fluence by CBS, Ilka Chase, actress and novel-ist whose radio program, Luncheon at theWaldorf, recently concluded, paid a visit to thetavern. Her appearance on Duffy’s was de-signed to promote her new radio program, which

© Martin Grams blog

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premiered on June 6. The announcer, JohnReed King*, closed the episode with the follow-ing mention: “Archie wants me to thank IlkaChase for coming here tonight and to announcethat he will be her guest next Friday night on hernew program for Camel Cigarettes… PenthouseParty.”

The first season also introduced listeners totwo regulars: Shirley Booth and Eddie Green.Miss Duffy, the proprietor’s daughter, liked al-most every man who walked into the tavern, andshe had a friend, Vera, who also liked men. Thiscertainly added a female element to the pro-gram, opening the door to jokes about matri-mony, romance, dating and other similar topics.“In matrimony you marry an armful and wind upwith a roomful,” Archie once quipped. “It takestwo to make a marriage -- a single girl and ananxious mother,” Miss Duffy explained. AfterMiss Duffy explained her cosmetic affairs toArchie, the bar keep turned to Eddie. “What with lipstick on their lips, rouge on their cheeks,mascara on their eyes, polish on their nails, andnow paint on their legs, the dames sure take ashellacking.”

Shirley Booth was known primarily as aBroadway actress, who, up to the time Duffy’sTavern premiered, won critical praise for her roleof Ruth Sherwood in the 1940 production of MySister Eileen. During her tenure on Duffy’s, thefirst three seasons, she received top billing atthe opening of every broadcast, always billed as“the star of My Sister Eileen.” When Booth leftthe series in 1943, actresses playing the role ofMiss Duffy never received such limelight, down-graded to simply name mention like the rest ofthe cast.BOOTH: (to Ilka Chase) Your friends are alwaysso classy, ain’t they? They’re all raconteuses,chanteuses, danseuses… it’s a wonder younever bring down any hippopotamotuses.

Eddie Green, who would later find greaterfame as Stonewall, the fix-it-all lawyer on Amosn’ Andy, played Eddie the waiter, gripper-extraor-dinary at Duffy’s, an apprehensive citizen ofHarlem, and was in real-life a well-known Negrocomedian. He was also in the food business(ironically), and owned a chain of Harlem restau-rants for a couple decades. Eddie was the equivalent of Jack Benny’s Rochester -- whooften had the best come-back lines for his employer.ARCHIE: With a dame like Elsa Maxwell cominghere you think this tablecloth is high classenough?EDDIE: Well, I tell you what you can do with it.ARCHIE: What?EDDIE: Tear one more hole in the corner and tellher it’s Italian lace.

The listening audience often dismissed realitybecause orchestras like John Kirby’s did not playin taverns like Duffy’s; and sooner or later itwould occur to the listeners as odd that althoughArchie was a bartender, no one ever seemed totake a drink. But no one noticed it at the time,which said something about one of the most

Shirley Booth and Ed Gardner

* Footnote: John Reed King was the first announcer forthe series, who welcomed the studio audience by ex-plaining the evening’s proceedings, and performed thecommercials. King was also emcee of CBS’ This is theLife and announcer of the Gay Nineties Revue.

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original and consistently entertaining of currentprograms. With the aid of John Kirby’s famedNegro band, the music somehow fit the BrooklynTavern. Kirby was alumnus of Fletcher Hender-son, Chick Webb bands, and even started hisown in 1937 at New York’s Onyx Club. He wasonce married to actress Maxine Sullivan.

John Reed Kirby and his orchestra suppliedthe music for a full calendar year, until GeneralFoods took up sponsorship. Kirby, like most or-chestras that performed on the radio, spent aconsiderable amount of time performing for ho-tels. During the summer break between sea-sons, Kirby’s orchestra performed at theAmbassador East Hotel’s Pump Room. When hetenure on Duffy’s Tavern concluded, he returnedto the Ambassador for a three-week engage-ment and then continued with a successful ca-reer in music.

In the premiere episode of the series, in aneffort to introduce the weekly regulars to theradio audience, very little happens except to es-tablish Miss Duffy and Eddie’s position at thetavern. Duffy wanting Archie to hire Irish tenorsfor musical accompaniment in the tavern, andvisitor Colonel Stoopnagle, having heard thenews, tries to get hired for the job. STOOPNAGLE: Well, I have one new thing hereI’ve just invented.ARCHIE: What is it Colonel? To me it looks justlike a door.STOOPNAGLE: It is a door. It’s a bathroom doorthat you don’t have to wait outside of because itopens into a closet.ARCHIE: Gee, Colonel – you certainly have afurtive mind. I wish you could invent an Irishtenor.STOOPNAGLE: Why, Archie?ARCHIE: Well, Duffy says either I get an IrishTenor or I’m fired.STOOPNAGLE: My boy, never despair. I,

© Martin Grams blog

Lemuel Q. Stoopnagle, am an Irish Tenor.ARCHIE: But Duffy only likes Irish, Irish Tenors.

To prove his worth, Stoopnagle, with the as-sistance of the John Kirby orchestra, sings“Come Back to Ernie.” Stoopnagle fails to getthe job, but his position on Duffy’s Tavern would,ten years later, become more influential thananyone predicted in 1941. Billboard magazinereviewed the series premiere: “Duffy’s Tavern,one of the better program ideas showcased inColumbia’s Forecast series last summer, comesback with Ed Gardner and a sponsor. Gardner, adirector of note on other radio programs, playsArchie, a harried bartender in Duffy’s Tavern.Archie is Duffy’s languid man-of-all work and isafflicted with a remarkable Hell’s Kitchen dialectcompletely devoid of grammar and full of engag-ing malapropisms. Duffy is a mythical figure, hisinfluence being indirect but very substantial. Hispresence becomes known when he telephones

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Archie to squawk about the music and demandan Irish tenor. These conversations are one-wayaffairs. Archie answers to Duffy explainingeverything. Program did not score as well as theoriginal Forecast show, but was plenty good.Everything will depend upon script and how con-sistently Gardner can perform. Session as itstands is certainly a novel comedy set-up. Bandis John Kirby’s, a restrained tho swingy orches-tra. Series’ first guest was Colonel Stoopnagle,strictly terrific in a lunatic impersonation of anIrish tenor. Some of the plugs for Schick Razorwere cleverly worked into the script.”SEASON ONEMarch 1 to June 14, 1941Columbia Broadcasting SystemSponsor: Magazine Repeating Razor CompanyDay and Time: Saturday, 8:30 to 8:55 p.m., ESTMusic: John Kirby’s OrchestraAnnouncer: John Reed KingSeries Regulars: Shirley Booth and Eddie Green

Episode #1 Broadcast Saturday, March 1, 1941Guest: Col. Stoopnagle Plot: Plot is described above.Episode #2 Broadcast Saturday, March 8, 1941Guest: Deems TaylorPlot: Still seeking musical night life for the tav-ern, in reference to Duffy’s request last week,Archie tries to figure out where he can hire musi-cians until Deems Taylor happens to drop-by.Taylor kindly invites Archie and Miss Duffy to behis hosts tomorrow at the Philharmonic. WhenArchie explains the tavern needs a little musicaladdition, Taylor gets them a calypso singer. JohnKirby’s Orchestra performs “Dance of the SugarPlum Fairies” during the intermission. Memorable LinesARCHIE: Eddie… what is a calypso?EDDIE: Why, er, that’s when the sun gets blot-ted out.

ARCHIE: Eddie, that’s an eclipso… you seethat, Mr. Taylor, and he’s twice as smart as Duffy– and it’s three to one you didn’t know what acalypso was until you go on Information Please.

Episode #3 Broadcast Saturday, March 15,1941Guest: Orson WellesPlot: Discussions about the bard and FrancisBacon are discussed on account that OrsonWelles is dropping by. Welles happens to be inNew York City to do a play called Native Son,written by Richard Wright, which Welles and John Houseman were producing. Taking advan-tage of the opportunity, Archie tries to get Wellesto participate as the feature attraction for the tav-ern’s St. Patrick’s Day pig roast since it’s the kindof job for a ham actor. Joan Edwards, who wouldlater become a semi-regular on the program, isthe musical guest and sings “Do I Worry?”Memorable LinesBOOTH: Mr. Welles, you’re my idea of the perfectShakespeare actor. I will never forget you in thatpicture, “Romeo and Juliet.”WELLES: I was never in the picture, “Romeo and Juliet.”SHIRLEY: You see, Archie… it was NormaShearer.

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Memorable LinesARCHIE: Well, you’re lookin’ great. How’s thingsin the drama?WELLES: Well, Archie. My theatrical activitieshave been somewhat curtailed since my Holly-wood peregrination.ARCHIE: Oh, well, of course that’s up to the individual.WELLES: Well, naturally.ARCHIE: So you were in Hollywood, hah? Theykeep you busy out there?WELLES: Well, kind of.ARCHIE: What were you doing?WELLES: Same old thing – writing, directing,producing, and acting.ARCHIE: Boy, you sound like a one-manPreston Sturges…Episode #4 Broadcast Saturday, March 22, 1941Guest: Bill “Bojangles” RobinsonPlot: An income tax inspector arrives to look over the books while Archie attempts to lureBill “Bojangles” Robinson to perform at Duffy’s

under an exclusive contract. Distracted becauseof the audit, Archie ultimately makes an error.While entertaining a man in the tavern namedSherman, Archie is unaware that the new guestis a spy for the Stork Club, and without Archiebeing aware of it, Robinson signs an exclusiveto the Club and promptly leaves for new pur-

suits. John Kirby and his Orchestra perform“Why Cry Baby?” and “Hot Time in the Old Town.”Episode #5 Broadcast Saturday, March 29,1941Guests: Hildegarde and Arthur TreacherPlot: Treacher is billed as “Hollywood’s favoritescreen butler” and steals the limelight from theentire radio cast in this script. Treacher goes froma gentleman’s gentleman to a bum’s bum whenhe is hired by Archie to become his assistant,who in turn also answers the phone for Archie.Treacher’s dreams of how to improve thetavern do not work, however, and Archie is forced

to reduce the overhead. Hildegarde, who re-ceived top billing above Treacher in the openingof the broadcast, is constrained to a few lines ofdialogue and singing “Sweet Petite.”

Episode #6 Broadcast Saturday, April 5, 1941Guests: Morton Downey and the Vox Pop BoysPlot: Miss Duffy tries to convince the Vox PopBoys (Parks Johnson and Wally Butterworth) toallow her to audition for their program, and shesings “You Walked By.” Morton Downey showsup and sings “Molly Malone.” Eddie gets mis-taken as a contestant for the Vox Pop program.John Kirby and his Orchestra performs “Keep anEye on Your Heart,” and “The Dance of theSugar Plum Fairies,” the latter of which he per-formed in the first broadcast of the series. Memorable LinesWALLY: Well, the first question is: When waitingon table should you serve from the left or fromthe right?

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EDDIE: Well, that depends on which side of thecustomer is closest to the kitchen.WALLY: Sorry, Eddie, you should always servefrom the left.EDDIE: From the left, eh?WALLY: Yes.EDDIE: Well, personally, I ain’t superstitious.Episode #7 Broadcast Saturday, April 12, 1941Guest: Arthur MurrayPlot: Dance expert Arthur Murray gives some ofthe tavern’s guests, including Miss Duffy, somedancing lessons and Larry Adler, the world-fa-mous harmonica player (now appearing at theRoxy in New York City), performs three varia-tions on a theme by Paganinni. Duffy, mean-while, spends his time stuck in a phone booth atthe tailor shop without any pants, and is unableto come to the tavern and meet Murray in per-son. Archie pays Francis McCabe five bucks fordancing lessons. In order for Sam the Tailor toaccept Duffy’s check, he needs proof Duffy iswho he says he is, so Archie has Adler performa song live on the radio by request of “Sam theTailor.”Episode #8 Broadcast Saturday, April 19, 1941Guest: Colonel StoopnaglePlot: Archie thinks the tavern needs a hostessesto help bring customers in, so Archie herebycalls to order the Board of Directors of Duffy’sTavern, Limited, (limited, of course) consisting ofArchie, Eddie and Miss Duffy. Stoopnagle, mak-ing an idiot’s delight in assuming the tavern is nolonger around, decides to buy a band and a barand call it a tavern – Duffy’s Tavern – “what aname!” When Stoop discovers that there is al-ready such a place, he decides to sue them forplagiarism. This is the first episode to make ref-erence to Clancy, the Cop. Joan Edwards re-turns to sing another song.Memorable LinesARCHIE: Oh, Colonel Stoopnagle… how areyou?STOOPNAGLE: Shhh, I’m traveling incognito.ARCHIE: Incognito, huh?

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STOOPNAGLE: Yes, I don’t want to know thatI’ve bee here… Don’t refer to me by name.ARCHIE: What’ll I call you?STOOPNAGLE: Colonel Stoopnagle.ARCHIE: I wish I were an idiot so I could enjoythis conversation.Episode #9 Broadcast Saturday, April 26, 1941Guest: Tallulah BankheadPlot: Archie tries to teach Eddie the proper wayto introduce a woman of Bankhead’s stature tothe tavern, by adding class to the joint. Eddieeven fixes up the table with wax bananas.Bankhead, however, won’t eat at the tavernwhen she learns that beer and pig knuckles areon the menu. Archie happens to be away for amoment when Bankhead arrives and when hereturns, he mistakes her for a normal customer,and makes embarrassing remarks about the tav-ern while talking up the great Tallulah Bankhead– unaware she is standing in front of him the en-tire time. Bankhead closes the broadcast recitinga dramatic poem, “Abe Lincoln Walks at Mid-night.” John Kirby’s orchestra performs “ArabianNightmare.”Trivia, etc. The poem Bankhead recites origi-nated from Burton Egbert Stevenson’s TheHome Book of Verse (1879).Episode #10 Broadcast Saturday, May 3, 1941Guest: Hildegarde and Maxie RosenbloomPlot: When Maxie Rosenbloom stops by the tav-ern, he accidentally crushes Miss Duffy’s handbecause of his strength. Hildegarde stops byand the prize fighter finds her “vivacious.” Be-cause Archie is in love with the singer, he getsjealous and makes an attempt to woo her afterreferring to her as “Mademoiselle Hildegarde,from the Savoy Plaza - the chanteuse.” Hilde-garde gives Archie a prompt rejection andproves to Archie, who was in disagreement withRosenbloom, that a big handsome mass of mus-cle is what women really want.Memorable LinesBOOTH: Why did you give up fighting to go onthe radio?

MAXIE: Well, all the time when I was a fighter,my ambition was to talk on the radio, but, at theend of every fight, they gave the other guy themicrophone and he would say, “Hello, mom, I’llbe right home.”BOOTH: Well, why didn’t you say hello mom, I’llbe right home, too?ARCHIE: What, in his condition?Episode #11 Broadcast Saturday, May 10, 1941Guest: Elsa MaxwellPlot: To celebrate Duffy’s 25th anniversary,Archie hires Elsa Maxwell, social set worker, togive a party at the tavern. He attempts to im-press Maxwell with suggestions on party games,but Miss Duffy insists on playing post office andspin the bottle. Duffy, meanwhile, is beaten witha baseball bat and unable to attend the tavern tocelebrate. Jacques Fray and Mario Braggiotti, afamed piano duo who performed on radio asearly as 1932, supplied musical entertainmentusing their two pianos.Memorable LinesARCHIE: Oh, hello, Duffy. Congratulations onyour twenty-fifth wedding. Mrs. Duffy kissed youhow many times? No kiddin’, twenty-five?… Oh,with a baseball bat.Episode #12 Broadcast Saturday, May 17,1941Guest: Milton BerlePlot: Comedian Milton Berle pays a visit to thetavern, having grown up in the neighborhoodand hasn’t seen the place since he was a kid.He is shocked to see how the condition of thetavern has worn down. Archie attempts to con-vince Berle to emcee a floor show, suggesting itwould improve the tavern’s clientele. WhenDuffy is disillusioned, Berle relents and performscomedy monolog. Memorable LinesARCHIE: Say, Duffy, guess who’s coming heretonight? Milton Berle. That little noisy kid whoused to hang around here all the time. MiltonBerle… Duffy, remember the kid who used tobuy joke books, memorize the jokes and thensay he made them up himself?… Well, that’s

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Edited by Bob Burchettbob_burchett@msn.comDistributed by Jim Beshiresbeshiresjim@yahoo.com

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Milton. Sure’s he’s been in Hollywood… yeah,done pretty good, too. Yeah, I know you alwayssaid he was a smart kid. Remember -- he wasthe only kid on the block who could explain thefunny papers to you.Trivia, etc. Orson Welles was scheduled makea return to the program for May 17 broadcast,but he took ill on the West Coast and was un-able to fly to New York, so Milton Berle substi-tuted.Episode #13 Broadcast Saturday, May 24, 1941Guest: Paul LukasPlot: Paul Lukas, recent winner of the NYDrama Critics Award, stops by the tavern as aguest. Miss Duffy assumes Lukas won the Nobelprize. Archie proposes to singer Peg La Centra,after she performs “A Romantic Guy, I.” She isswept off her feet when she meets Paul Lukasand Archie’s chances drop to zero.Episode #14 Broadcast Saturday, May 31, 1941Guest: James J. WalkerPlot: James J. Walker, former mayor of NewYork City, is an old friend of Duffy’s and stops byto check out the tavern and the people workinghard behind the counter. Duffy apparently usedto be an old election district captain and helpedWalker get 600 votes in the district. Walker hasulterior motives, however, when he explains toArchie that he is here to help save the relation-ship between Duffy and his wife. Miss Duffy mis-takes Walker as the new bartender and giveshim tips on how not to overflow the glasses, andhow they all have fake bottoms. This is the firstappearance of Crudface and Dugan, Archie’slawyers.Memorable LinesDUGAN: Don’t answer that, Archie.CRUDFACE: I object.ARCHIE: Objection sustained.DUGAN: Hey Crudface, what’s that sustained?CRUDEFACE: That’s a radio program without a sponsor.Episode #15 Broadcast Saturday, June 7, 1941Guest: Ilka Chase

According to a number of old-time premium collectors, theymentioned that they have seen anumber of the originals around inthe past, but not for a while. Ofcourse there are the glossy paperreprints of the sign that were re-produced by Steranko in the 70's,but they are of little value. Originals: • Were printed on cardboard and

not paper!• Have an oval embossed trademark in the

center of the bottom border• Has"printed in the U.S.A." on the bottom right

corner of the white border.Steranko Reprint:• Printed on slick glossy paper • No trademark• No bottom right printing note (See ad on page 12)

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Plot: Ilka Chase, actress and novelist, pays avisit to the tavern. Archie wants her to do for thetavern what she did at the Waldorf, and sug-gests calling the new radio program “Dinner atDuffy’s.” Such a stunt might keep the tavernopen over the summer, but when the question ofsalary comes along, she says no dice. Chaseadds: “Is this to be Dinner at Duffy’s or Supperat Sing Sing?” Chase leaves when the food istoo rich at the tavern, having heard Archie ex-plain what they serve, claiming she’s going backto the Waldorf for some good old-fashionedcorned beef and cabbage.Trivia, etc. In the beginning of this episode,Archie makes a mention that next week is thelast night for Duffy’s Tavern, because Duffyplans to close the tavern for the summer.Chase’s former program, which was broadcastin the afternoon time slot, concluded just a cou-ple weeks before her appearance on Duffy’sTavern.Episode #16 Broadcast Saturday, June 14,1941Guest: Miss June NevinPlot: Miss June Nevin of the Moore-McCormackSteamship Lines, the one that hires entertainersand bands for the boats that go to South Amer-ica, is guest in this episode and when Archiefinds out who is planning to pay a visit, not onlydoes this prompt a Carmen Miranda joke, but heattempts to get Eddie Green “the singing waiter”to get booked for the coming season. Crudfaceand Dugan, Archie’s lawyers, show up towardsthe end of the broadcast and create a fiasco thatmesses up the entire affair.Trivia, etc. At the conclusion of this episode, theannouncer informs the radio audience thatDuffy’s Tavern will return in the middle of Sep-tember and to pay attention to local newspaperlistings for details.Shameless plug... I am finishing my bookabout Duffy's Tavern, which has been in theworks for about ten years. Only thing holdingme up is contacting a certain individual in theMidwest has what I know will fill in the remaininggaps I need to complete the manuscript. Thebook is contracted through Bear Manor Mediaand due for a 2012 release.

Wanted: "The Weird Avenger of Crime" poster (circa. 1933)

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Beyond Kansas City: The Texas Rangers and Life on Red Horse Ranch by Ryan Ellett

The Texas Rangers were formed in the early1930s by Arthur B. Church, the hands-on ownerof Kansas City's KMBC, the city's CBS affiliate.The Texas Rangers was an eight-piece bandthat specialized in cowboy and western music,though they were not adverse to mixing gospel,traditional, and other miscellaneous tunes intotheir repertoire. The Rangers were actually twoquartets, one of singers and the other of musi-cians. The exact membership of the group dur-ing the earliest days is a bit hazy, but all theperformers were KMBC staff musicians whowere tasked with creating a western outfit. Thisassignment came though none of the them actu-ally had any notable background in western orcowboy music. The most authentic of theRangers troupe was Texas-born singer-song-writer “Tex” Owens (Doie Hensley by birth), theOriginal Texas Ranger. Owens, an employee of

KMBC for most of the 1930s, was, interestingly,never an official member of the band eventhough he performed with them regularly.

Even though the Texas Rangers were pickedup by CBS's coast-to-coast network as early asNovember 1, 1932, the band was primarily a re-gional act based out of Kansas City which per-formed both on KMBC radio and in concert inthe surrounding counties. It's not known exactlywhen the band appeared in its first musicaldrama show, Flying Horse Ranch, but it waslikely in 1933 or 1934. The characters played bythe band members were in place when theRangers arrived in Chicago in August, 1934, torecord at the World Broadcasting studios. OnAugust 27, 1934, the full eight-piece band, alongwith Owens providing additional vocals,recorded two sides, “Dude Ranch Party” Pt. 1and 2. The next day Owens recorded four solo

The Texas Rangers

14

Cast of the Red Horse Ranch

tracks; his signature “Cattle Call” (later popular-ized by Eddy Arnold), “Two Sweethearts,”“Rocking Alone in an Old Rocking Chair,” and“Pride of the Prairie”.

Radio transcription series were a potentiallylucrative source of income for the right talentand Arthur Church was sure his Texas Rangersfit the bill. Freeman Correll and Charles Gosdenhad popularized the concept of radio transcrip-tion, the business of recording a program to rentor sell to interested stations, with their block-buster Amos 'n' Andy show in the late 1920s.During the early 1930s several transcriptioncompanies sprang up offering new material toradio stations. The Air Adventures of JimmyAllen, Chandu, the Magician, Tarzan, and Ceciland Sally were just a few series which achieveda considerable degree of popularity via varioustranscription services. By the middle of thedecade four companies, the C. P. MacGregorService, the RCA/NBC Thesaurus Library, theStandard Radio Library, and the World Broad-casting Service, had the most market share with

their contracts with 350 stations nationwide.Gomer Cool, a Missouri native who re-

ceived some formal training on the violin at theKansas City Horner-Conservatory under the eyeof Danish-born composer Sir Carl Busch, beganworking at KMBC in 1929. He was called uponby Church to write a set of scripts which aired asFlying Horse Ranch. Finding the broadcastssuccessful on local radio, Church began plan-ning to use the series to vault his Texas Rangersto greater fame via syndication efforts. Thescripts were not ground-breaking in any way.They related the continuing story of a group ofranch hands on the Flying Horse Ranch who arecalled on to save their beloved ranch from thenefarious schemer Steve Bradford who wouldtake control of it if given the chance. More im-portant than Cool's story was the music of theTexas Rangers. There were three to five songsper fifteen-minute episode, each performed bythe Texas Rangers, Tex Owens, or both. Thesenine musicians all took dramatic parts in the pro-gram in addition to their playing.

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How much time passed between the airing ofFlying Horse Ranch and when advertisingagency J. Stirling Getchell, Inc. expressed inter-est in the program is not yet known. Neither is itknown exactly how such a small radio seriescame to the attention of Getchell's New Yorkagency. Regardless, Getchell was made awareof Church's series and decided it would be agood vehicle to promote the Socony-Vacuum OilCompany. Getting the attention of such an up-and-coming ad company was a real coup forChurch. Getchell's agency had earned its firstmajor account just three years earlier in 1932when they were given the chance to promoteChrysler's new model, the Plymouth. After salestook off other notable companies came knock-ing, including the then-second largest oil com-pany Socony-Vacuum (later Mobiloil, now partof ExxonMobil).

Contracts be-tween the two parties weresigned on March30 and Cool's Flying HorseRanch, now re-named The RedHorse Ranch (officially dubbed Life on the Red Horse Ranchbut rarely referred to by the entire name) inhonor of Socony's famous red horse logo, hadthe financial backing to get recorded. The con-tract indicates a dozen KMBC employees weresigned for the project: Gomer Cool, Doie Hen-lasey (Tex) Owens, Duane Swalley, EdwardCronenbold, Roderick May, Robert Crawford,Ruth Barth, John Preston, Paul Sells, HerbertKratoska (frequently referred to as “Herbie”),Eddie Edwards, and Marion Fonville (misspelled“Folville” on the contract and “Fondville” in anewspaper review). A photo taken in Chicago

hints at fourteen players, however. One of theextra two has been confirmed as Clarence Hart-man who began performing in the band aroundthis time.

Though no information survives indicatingwhich parts each cast member played, most ofthem can be surmised without much trouble.Robert Crawford likely played “Bob” for the obvi-ous reason he generally went by that name andsimilarly, “Tex” was surely played by “Tex”Owens. As the only female in the cast, RoseCarter would have been played by Ruth Barth.Texas Rangers historian Kevin Coffey has identi-fied Marion Fonville as “Alabam.” Fonville wasan announcer which would make him a primecandidate for the series announcer as well.Gomer Cool is identified in various documenta-tion as “Tenderfoot” and Edward Cronenbold isdocumented as “Tuscon.” Herbert Kratoskaplayed Arizona, Hartman portrayed “Idaho,” andSells was “Monty.” The other three primary char-acters, Cheyenne, Sam Carter, and Cookie,have not yet been positively identified with theother known actors.

The Red Horse Ranch contract called forKMBC to produce and record no less thantwenty-six episodes, each of which would have90 seconds of space at the beginning and endfor a commercial message. The station had tocover all production costs but retained all rightsto the show, allowing them to market it furtherwhen the partnership with Socony-Vacuum Oilended. This initial order of 26 episodes was tobe recorded by April 15, 1935, so they couldthen be sent out to anywhere within the territory being targeted by J. Stirling Getchell forSocony’s Lubrite product.

The advertising agency was required to runat least two episodes per week, thus the 26shows would fill a thirteen-week block, a com-mon broadcasting schedule at the time. The

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contract indicates a full year's worth of episodes(104) was to be produced though there is no in-dication so many were ever made. Variety mag-azine reported in the summer of 1935 that theTexas Rangers had finished recording 39 addi-tional episodes of Life on Red Horse Ranch.This matches the sixty-five scripts which exist inthe station's archives, of which only the first 26World broadcast recordings are circulating so farin the old time radio community. An additional 38episodes are believed to exist in private collec-tions, thus accounting for 64 of the 65 recorded.Beyond the original 65 broadcasts two additionalundated scripts numbered 97 and 100 exist butthere are no clues as to whether the contentswere ever aired.

Recording on Red Horse Ranch began Tues-day, April 2, at the World Broadcasting studios inChicago where the Texas Rangers had cut twosides back in August, 1934. The first 26episodes were all cut in four days with eachactor earning fifty dollars per day for their work.World Broadcasting Systems was a major playerin the burgeoning radio transcription market,recording both music and dramatic radio fare,and Church was wise to associate his productwith the company.

While in Chicago the Rangers did an extrathree hours of recording at the Decca RecordStudios earning themselves another twenty dol-lars. On April 6 they laid down eight tracks on aSaturday afternoon. The songs were: “Goin'Down to the Santa Fe,” “Prairie Dreamboat,”“Careless Love,” “Let the Rest of the World GoBy,” “New River Train,” “Lonesome Valley Sally,”“The Big Corral,” and “Trail to Mexico.” Immedi-ately following this session a band called theHappy Hollow Hoodlums with exactly the sameinstruments (fiddle, accordian, guitar, and banjo)recorded three songs, “Down Home Rag,”“Panama,” and a promotional recording for Julian Kohange Company, a shore store. That

KMBC had a long-running program rural comedyprogram called Happy Hollow leads to the easytheory that the Hoodlums were the TexasRangers. These recordings were instrumentalswith no vocals, but why the musicians wouldrecord under this alternate moniker is not ex-plained by company documents.

Red Horse Ranch was not the commercialbreakthrough that Church hoped. The programdid reach a respectable number of radio mar-kets, including some of the largest in the Mid-west. It was aired on WGN (Chicago), WWJ(Detroit, some sources claim legendary stationWXYZ), WHK (Cleveland) and WCCO (Min-neapolis). Smaller markets included some in Illi-nois (WTAD, Quincy, WJBL, Decatur, WDZ,Tuscola, and WEBQ, Harrisburg), Iowa (WOC,Davenport, and WHO, Des Moines), Indiana(WFBM, Indianapolis, WKVB, Richmond,WHBU, Anderson, WBOW, Terre Haute, andWLBC, Muncie), Missouri (KMOX, St. Louis, andKFRU, Columbia), Colorado (KGIW, Alamosa,KLZ, Denver, KFXJ, Grand Junction, and KIDW,Lamar), South Dakota (KABN, Aberdeen, andKGFX, Pierre), Wyoming (KDFN, Casper, and

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KWYO, Sheridan), Kansas (KGNO, Dodge City,KFH, Wichita, and WIBW, Topeka), Montana(KGIR, Butte, KFBB, Great Falls, and KGCX,Wolf Point), Nebraska (KMMJ, Clay Center,KFOR, Lincoln, WOW, Omaha, and KGKY,Scottsbluff), and North Dakota (WDAY, Fargo,and KLPM, Minot).

Indeed, there is little that makes Life on theRed Horse Ranch stand out to modern listeners.The ranch hands are, for the most part, indistin-guishable from each other and the charactersare pretty much stock characters for westernfare. Sam Carter is the noble ranch owner, tryingto scratch out an honest living in a tough busi-ness. Rose Carter, Sam's daughter, is a kind-hearted gal who wins the heart of all the boys,especially Alabam. Cookie, the African Americancook, displays dim-witted buffoonery typical ofmany radio black-face characters of the time.Steve Bradford, the bad guy trying to take own-ership of the Red Horse, blends with countlesssuch characters from western radio, television,and film. The cowboy drawl is not convincing

and the minimal use of sound affects bluntssome of the scenes. Nevertheless, numerouscontemporary old time radio listeners havefound the series perfectly listenable and evenentertaining, if not on the level of the era's mostbeloved programs. What Red Horse Ranchlacks in story and acting quality is more thanmade up for by the polished sound of the TexasRangers.

Life on Red Horse Ranch was broadcast inthe markets mentioned above over a period ofabout two years before interest waned. Still,KMBC received enough requests for informationon the series in succeeding years that Cool feltcompelled to write an internal memo in 1939 ad-dressing the status of the series. It was, as therecordings suggest and as Cool himself pro-fessed, not an action show. The episodes werebuilt around dialog and songs, and the few ac-tion sequences were, with only bare-bonessound effects, stilted and undramatic. Cool evenshowed flashes of irritation to those within thecompany who continued to try and sell the se-ries as a competitor to such classics a The Lone

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Ranger. The program was intended to spotlightthe music of the Texas Rangers; sustained ac-tion was not doable when a quarter-hour broad-cast featured four songs (“no more, no less,”though that was not always the case). In fact, tomarket the show as an action program was dis-honest and sure to disappoint any buyer in ashort period of time.

Outside of the nature of the show, Coolwarned of the physical state of the now-four-year-old World pressings. KMBC actually hadfew quality records to share with potential buy-ers, with most of the best sounding examplesstored in Chicago and New York. Listening tothe copies on hand in Kansas City was “not [his]idea of how to get the show sold.” Cool was –not to be cheeky – cool to the program at thatpoint. He warned KMBC sales staff to “be prettycareful about what shows” they auditioned to po-tential clients since the sound quality for some ofthem could only be described as “pretty terrible”

Cool may have had other reasons for down-playing the saleability of Red Horse Ranch,however. By the end of the 1930s the TexasRangers had received considerable time on

CBS' nationwide network and he was regularlypitching script ideas to networks and sponsorsfor new Rangers programs. Plus, the motion pic-ture industry was getting some attention fromChurch. The last thing they would have wantedwas for some early recordings with less thanstellar acting performances in less-than-desir-able sound to begin circulating and leave a poorimpression on possible financial suitors.

Ultimately, Church pulled the plug on RedHorse Ranch by the end of the decade. In addi-tion to the problems outlined by Cool, copyrightissues with some of the songs performed by theband created headaches. With film, radio, andrecording opportunities before the Rangers, RedHorse Ranch was shelved permanently beforeWorld War II broke out.

The first 26 episodes of Life on Red HorseRanch were acquired by Randy Riddle in recentmonths and are now being made available in adistribution by the Old Time Radio Researchers.Hopefully most, if not all, the rest of the series'65 episodes will be added to the group's hold-ings and offered to old time radio fans as a rein-troduction to a 75-year-old-series, the creativework of Arthur Church, and the music of theTexas Rangers.

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Winning Bid: $1,262.79 (includes15% Buyer's Premium) Bids: 13Bidding Ended: January 31, 2008 8.5" tall assembled and complete withall the flaps. ©1948 Superman Inc.Front of box has ad for Pep pins in-cluding images for Superman, OrphanAnnie and Moon Mullins. Back panelfeatures Superman 8-panel comic stripand from a numbered series of at least12. Comes with a COA signed by TomTumbusch & Ted Hake.

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Includes All Information AS OF OCTOBER 1, 2010

plus $5 postage and handling

The 4th Revised Ultimate History of Network Radio

Programming &Guide to All Circulating Shows Written by Jay Hickerson October, 2010

$52.00Subscribers to the Old Radio Times get a$10 discount. Your cost

is $42 plus $5 P&H for a total of $47.

Editor of Hello Again

# Includes theme music titles ifknown. Most complete sourceavailable.

# 565-page reference book listingover 6000 network, regional, localand syndicated radio programs.(Soft cover and spiral bound). Thisinformation was first presented in thiscombined format in 1992 with sepa-rate publications issued in 1986. # Traces each program by givingbroadcast dates, sponsors, net-work and air time. Often a briefdescription with one or two castmembers is given. The main pur-pose, however, is to trace eachprogram by showing when it wason the air. # Lists ALL shows available to col-lectors. Exact dates and sourcesare mentioned in most cases. Jay Hickerson, 27436 Desert Rose Ct.

Leesburg, FL 34748 352.728.6731Fax 352.728.2405 Jayhick@aol.com

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Meet the Members:Dave WhitePlease tell us a little something about you andyour history of old-time radio. How did it allbegin for you? As it happens, I was born (in 1951) just asradio's Golden Age was ending and TV's wasbeginning. I didn't really discover OTR until Iwas in my teens when, having developed a fas-cination (which I have never lost) for listening todistant radio signals, I began hearing OTRshows being broadcast at night on some of thefew stations still carrying them in the late '60s.My interest grew when I got a job at the localradio station on my 16th birthday, and beganseeking out anything and everything related toradio history. In the years between then andnow, the time I've had available to enjoy OTRhas waxed and waned, but my enjoyment of ithas never gone away. How many hours a day and week do you listento OTR? Do you have a listening schedule or isit just random? The average would probably be in the neighbor-hood of 6-8 hours a day. OTR is my “back-ground music” in the office during work hours,my iPod playlist when I go on my daily two milewalk, and is available 24/7 in every room of thehouse thanks to Internet radio and a Part 15transmitter. By what primary means do you listen to yourOTR?Internet radioWhat shows keep you going today?Broadway Is My Beat, Dangerous Assignment,Columbia WorkshopWhat are your favorite OTR Comedies andwhy?As a lifelong fan of well executed puns and ma-lapropisms, I'm particularly fond of shows that

relied heavily on them, like Duffy's Tavern, Burns& Allen, Fibber McGee & MollyDo you have any least favorite Comedies? Life of Riley, Father Knows BestWhat are your favorite OTR Mysteries and why?Mysterious Traveler, Sherlock Holmes, DarkVenture – for no particular reason other than thatI like them!What are your favorite OTR Westerns Six Shooter, Frontier Gentleman, Have Gun Will TravelWhat are your favorite OTR Science Fictionshows and why? X Minus 1, Dimension X. As a youngster, I reada lot of science fiction and these shows are theones that contain the most of the kind of SF sto-ries I particularly liked.What show do you wish you had more of to listen to?I'll never be able to listen to even a fraction ofwhat's available, so this isn't an issue for me.Please tell me who the best actor and actress inOTR is and why? Memories of him and her?I suppose my favorites would be those who werenot only actors, but were also writers, directors,and/or producers: Elliot Lewis, Orson Welles,Gertrude BergIs there a series that existed once but now thereare no known copies, that you would like tohear? ( Not answered )Is there anything else you'd like to say? Just this: THANKS! It was only a couple of yearsago that I became aware of OTRR (viaarchive.org) and that discovery has dramaticallyincreased my interest in,and enjoyment of OTR.Thank you for taking part in this 'Meet The Members'.

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Eye on Ebay: Passing the Buck By Doug Hopkinson

My most recent pilgrimage to ebay had mesearching for Buck Rogers paraphernalia.Buck Rogers began his career as AnthonyRogers in a pulp magazine called Amazing Sto-ries in 1928. One year later his name waschanged to Buck and he had his own syndicatedcomic strip. In 1932, he had his own radio showthat ran until 1947. In 1933 a short film wasmade. In 1939 a popular serial film was madeand finally in 1950 he made it to television. BuckRogers captured the imagination of children andadults alike. This interest in Buck did not go unnoticed by anyone smart enough to see anopportunity to exploit it and turn it into financialprofit. Mostly this exploitation was directed atchildren in the form of radio premiums and toys.Foremost in the toy category was the gun.

Now that the synopsis is concluded, let uslook at some of what is currently being listed on ebay.

First up we have the1934 model BuckRogers Rocket Pistolmanufactured by theDaisy Manufacturing Company. Yes, the same company that makesthe bb guns we all grew-up with. This model isthe XZ-31, not to be confused with the smallerversion the XZ-35. The XZ-31 is just over 9” inlength while the XZ-35 is just over 7” long. TheXZ-35 is also known as the Wilma model,named for Buck’s female companion WilmaDeering. Both these guns are “pop-guns”. Theyonly make noise. They do not expel projectiles.These guns are both quite prevalent on ebay.Prices range greatly, mostly due to the conditionof the piece. This particular example is in mar-velous condition. Note that this listing has the

best offer option. The seller has declined 6 bestoffers so far. At $550 it’s not a great bargain butthere have been similar ones that have sold formore.

Here is an exam-ple of an XZ-31 that is not in nice condi-tion. Note that thisitem is a 7day listingand began at $9.99. There were 5 bids in the first full day that broughtthe current price to $42.21.

Next up have a look at this! A Buck RogersLiquid Helium Water Pistol! Oh wait, sorry, it’sjust the box for a Buck Rogers Liquid HeliumWater Pistol. But you could own it! For just$1000.00!! Nothing says “cool me down” like liq-uid helium does on a hot summer day. (Inciden-tally, there is such a thing as liquid helium.)

Next we have a truly scarce piece of BuckRogery. A Solar Scouts Embroidered Patch.The seller claimed to know virtually nothingabout it and started the auction at $49.99At that price I personally was interested in it. Idecided to watch it and was considering puttinga bid in up to $300.00 Why you ask?

A bit of research reveals this patch to be apremium from Cream of Wheat in 1936. For aboxtop and 15 cents you could get this 3” em-broidered patch. Today it is considered to be therarest of all in the Buck Rogers premium cate-

gory. As you can see,this example was in per-fect condition. The ex-pected sale was between$4000 and $8000. It soldfor a paltry $3750.00!

There are a plethoraof Buck Rogers items to be found on ebay. What I’ve presented todayis a tiny fraction of what is available on any givenday. If you don’t want to put out big bucks forBuck, you can go with something like this lastitem I’m going to show you. Starting bid was$3.99. That’s what I did.

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Bud Collyer (1908-69)By Billy Jack Long

Clayton Johnson Heermance, Jr., was bornJune 18, 1908, in New York City into a showbusiness family, well, the family would become ashow business family. However, he didn't get in-

volved in acting until hewas a law student at Ford-ham University (his fatherwas a lawyer). For acting,he decided to use the nick-name his family alwayscalled him, Bud, plus hismother's maiden name,Collyer. His sister, JuneCollyer (born Dorothea June Heermance), did the same thing when shewent into acting. His brother, Richard (Richard V.Heermance), used his original birthname.

In the mid 1930s, he was out of law schooland working as a law clerk. Still working in radio,he earned as much in one month on radio hashis earned in a year as a clerk. In 1940, he wentinto acting full time.

Bud became Supermanin the early part of thatyear. The original idea ofSuperman was very differ-ent than what he became.Originally, he couldn't fly.He could leap (jump) tallbuildings. He hadn't beenadopted by the Kents but,when his flying saucer from Krypton landed on earth, a rich man saw the baby in the road andsent him to an orphanage in Metropolis.

Some of Superman's vulnerabilities hap-pened on account of radio. When Bud Collyerdecided to take a couple of weeks off to take avacation with his family, it was explained thatSuperman had been exposed to kryptonite andit would take some time to recover. They neverrecorded shows and did reruns back in thosedays.

Superman and Clark Kent had two differentvoices. Superman had a deep voice while themild mannered newspaper reporter, Kent, has ahigh squeeky voice. Bud pulled this off excep-

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This is a list of newly acquired series/episodes.They may either be new to mp3 or better encodes. These were acquired by the Groupduring the month of June. They were purchasedby donations from members and friends of theOld Time RadioResearchers. If you havecassettes that you would like to donate, pleasee-mail beshiresjim@yahoo.com For reel-to-reels, contact david0@centurytel.net and fortranscription disks tony_senior@yahoo.com

OTRR ACQUIRES NEW EPISODES & UPGRADED SOUND ENCODES FOR MAY/JUNE

tionally well.It should also be pointed out that the produc-

ers of Superman didn't want anyone to knowwho the actor was who was playing him. Thebroadcasts were open to the public, so Budwore a mask. Sometimes, the cast went to vari-ous grocery stores and other venues. Bud hadto wear a mask when he went.

Besides performing on the radio program, healso acted in the Superman cartoon series, pro-duced by Paramount Pictures in Hollywood. Budwould move to Los Angeles for that part of hislife. When the cartoons were finished (mid1940s), he returned to New York.

After radio, Bud Collyer was a TV game showhost. His most popular shows included Beat theClock, To Tell the Truth, Break the Bank, andWinner Take All. He continued working in televi-sion, which included a new Superman cartoonseries for Saturday morning TV, until his deathon September 8, 1969, at the age of 61. He diedof blood circulation problems at his home inGreenwich, Connecticut.

Bud Collyer was married twice. First, toHeloise Law Green from 1936 to 1951. Theyhad a son. The second, to actress MarionShockley, had two daughers and a son. Bud wasa Sunday school superintendent and recordedthe audio version ofGood News for Mod-ern Man, the New Testament in Today'sEnglish Version, for

The original spon-sor of Superman wasKellogg's. The usualfeatured cereal wasKellogg's Pep. CornFlakes, Rice Krispies,and other productsmanufactured by the Battle Creek, Michigan, ce-real company were often mentioned on the show.

1949 Christmas Seal Campaign 49-01-26 Guest - Rod Cameron.mp349-12-03 Guest - John Charles Thomas.mp349-12-12 Guest - Gordon Macrae.mp349-12-19 Guest - Bob Hope.mp3Adventure Trails 46-03-22 Stampede On The Chisolm Trail (Audition).mp3Adventures By Morse 46-01-18 Audition #1.mp346-01-19 Audition #2.mp346-01-20 City Of The Dead 1.mp346-01-27 City Of The Dead 2.mp346-02-03 City Of The Dead 3.mp346-02-10 City Of The Dead 4.mp346-02-17 City Of The Dead 5.mp346-02-24 City Of The Dead 6.mp346-03-03 City Of The Dead 7.mp346-03-10 City Of The Dead 8.mp346-03-17 City Of The Dead 9.mp346-03-24 City Of The Dead 10.mp3Air Force Hour 50-06-03 First Tune - Triumph Of Old Glory.mp350-06-10 First Tune - June Is Bustin' Out AllOver.mp3

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Allen And Jean 46-04-20 News About New York.mp3Allen Prescott Show46-06-21.mp3Are These Our Children 46-07-26 Nora Bailey Story (rebc 46-09-29).mp346-11-17 Edith Hayes Story.mp3A Christmas Carol 49-12-25 Stars Lionel Barrymore.mp3A L Alexander's Mediation Board 43-06-28 A Martial Dispute.mp3A Woman's Story 44-11-18 Audition.mp3Adventures In Research44-12-30 Eyes And Ears For The Millions -

pt 1.mp345-01-06 Eyes And Ears For The Millions -pt 2.mp3

Bermuda Crash Flyers 49-11-20 Guest - Edith Mizarand.mp3Bob Crane Show57-11-13.mp3

Burl Ives Show46-12-15 First Tune - Wish I Was An Apple On

A Tree.mp346-12-19 (14) First Tune - Blow Ye Winds OfMorning.mp346-12-20 First Tune - Get Along Little Dog-gies.mp346-12-21 (17) First Tune - Blow Ye Winds OfMorning.mp3Bill Cunningham News 49-10-02 Does Russia Have The Bomb.mp3Blue Ribbon Time 45-10-26 Jack Benny Goes To See DannyKaye's New Movie.mp3Bob Burns Show, The 46-10-06 Winston Has Been Kidnapped.mp3Club 930 49-11-15 DJ - Merle Ross.mp3

Club 930 49-11-18 DJ - Gene Baker.mp3Coke Club 46-07-19 First Tune - So It Goes.mp346-07-22 First Tune - I'd Be Lost WithoutYou.mp346-08-26 First Tune - Evalina.mp346-08-28 First Tune - Five Minutes More.mp346-08-30 First Tune - The Girl That I Marry.mp346-09-02 First Tune - Walking Away With MyHeart.mp346-09-04 First Tune - My O'Darlin, My O'Lovely,My O'Brien.mp346-09-06 First Tune - I Don't Know Why I LoveYou Like I Do.mp3Chesterfield Supper Club 48-12-17 First Tune - Down Amoung The Shel-tering Palms.mp348-12-20 First Tune - Santa Claus Is Coming ToTown.mp3CBS News Of The World 43-10-20 Gains Are Reported By The Allies (opcut).mp3Cecil Brown News 50-02-23 Franco In Spain.mp3Coast Guard Memorial 48-08-04 Guest - Bob Hope.mp3Danny Kaye Show 45-01-13 (02).mp345-01-20 (03).mp345-01-27 (04).mp345-02-03 (05).mp345-02-10 (06).mp345-02-17 (07).mp345-02-24 (08).mp345-03-03 (09).mp345-03-10 (10).mp345-05-11 (19).mp3Dick And Jeannie xx-xx-xx (19) First Tune - Believe It,Beloved.mp3

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Dick And Jeanniexx-xx-xx (20) First Tune - I Want a Girl Just Like

the Girl That Married Dear Old Dad.mp3xx-xx-xx (21) First Tune - Paper Doll.mp3xx-xx-xx (22) First Tune - Gonna Dance Withthe Dolly with the Hole in Her Stocking.mp3xx-xx-xx (23) First Tune - Blue Room.mp3xx-xx-xx (24) First Tune - Pennies FromHeaven.mp3xx-xx-xx (37) First Tune - This Heart ofMine.mp3xx-xx-xx (38) First Tune - The Charm ofYou.mp3xx-xx-xx (39) First Tune - I Dream of You MoreThan You Dream I Do.mp3xx-xx-xx (40) First Tune - I'm Through WithLove.mp3xx-xx-xx (41) First Tune - I Only Have Eyes forYou.mp3xx-xx-xx (42) First Tune - Don't Blame Me.mp3xx-xx-xx (79) First Tune - I'll Be With You inEverything I Do.mp3xx-xx-xx (80) First Tune - I'm a Little on theLonely Side.mp3xx-xx-xx (81) First Tune - I Ain't GotNobody.mp3xx-xx-xx (82) First Tune - All of My Love With Allof My Heart.mp3xx-xx-xx (83) First Tune - Irish Lullaby.mp3xx-xx-xx (84) First Tune - Under a Blanket ofBlue.mp3Don Wright Chorus 49-10-16.mp349-10-30 First Tune - Make Believe.mp3Double Or Nothing 49-10-13.mp350-08-30.mp3Dinah Shore Birdseye Open House 46-03-21 First Tune -Atlanta, GA (East Coast).mp346-03-21 First Tune - Atlanta, GA (West Coast).mp3

El Lobo Rides Again 49-11-09 The Ambush.mp3Engineer Operating Awards 49-04-16 Rescue Of Cathy Fiskus.mp3Eddie Cantor Show (Pabst) 47-06-12 (38) Eddie Interviews A ProspectiveSon-In-Law.mp3Faith In Our Time 49-02-01 Guest - Dr Jay Richard Sneed.mp3Family Hour xx-xx-xx (74) First Tune - Beat Out That RhythmOn The Drums.mp3Fun At Breakfast 46-02-27 First joke is about a case of son.mp346-02-28 A routine where they start a telegraphcompany.mp346-03-21 A routine where they start a telegraphcompany.mp3Family Robinson xx-xx-xx (76) Dick returns from Chicago, an-nouncing he has inherited an estate.mp3Father Knows Best 48-12-20 Audition.mp3Fred Waring Show, The 47-12-05 A Salute To Walt Disney.mp3xx-xx-xx (86) Saltue To Fort Oglethorpe.mp3xx-xx-xx (87) First Tune -When The Lights GoOn Again.mp3Freedom USA 52-03-23 (14) Dead Letter Carrier.mp3Great Caesar's Ghost46-03-08 Audition.mp3Great Gildersleeve, The 49-04-13 (323) The Circus Comes To Summer-field.mp349-04-20 (324) Haunted House.mp349-12-14 (343) The Christmas Spirit.mp349-12-28 (345) The Hayride.mp3Guys Next Door, The 47-07-25 Audition.mp3

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Gi-Jive xx-xx-xx (1117) First Tune - Russian Lullaby.mp3xx-xx-xx (1118) First Tune - Little Jazz.mp3Glamour Girl 46-08-21 Audition.mp3Great Gildersleeve, The 48-06-02 Tape for Kraft Employees.mp3Great Scenes From Great Plays48-10-15 (03) The Barretts of Wimple

Street.mp3Green Hornet 45-08-23 (0717) Unexpected Meeting.mp346-02-23 (0744) The Last of Oliver Perry.mp346-03-02 (0745) A Question of Time.mp346-03-09 (0746) The Letter (aka-Clearing TheMayor Of Graft).mp346-03-16 (0747) A Pair of Nylons.mp346-03-23 (0748) Youth Takes the Headlines.mp346-03-30 (0749) Classified Ad.mp346-06-01 (0758) Accidents Will Happen (akaCity Transportation, Bus Accidents).mp346-06-15 (0760) Revenge for Melakim.mp346-06-22 (0761) The Champion.mp346-08-03 (0767) The Torn Map.mp346-08-10 (0768) Axford Makes a Deal.mp346-08-17 (0769) One Too Many Frame-Ups.mp346-08-24 (0770) Profits from War.mp346-08-31 (0771) Death in the Dark.mp346-09-07 (0772) Oliver Perry Tries Once More(aka-Oliver Perry Tries Again).mp346-12-22 (0787) Return of the Missing Witness.mp3Gangbusters 53-06-13 Carlos Lajoya Is Shot And Killed'.mp3H V Kaltenborn News 40-12-19 The Isolationist Movement.mp341-04-24 Convoys To England.mp341-05-06 Aircraft Production.mp341-05-27 Bismark Sunk.mp3Hail The Champ 46-11-07 Sports Quiz Show.mp3

Heart Strings 46-02-06 Audition.mp3Hollywood Dateline 45-02-xx Plug For Roger Jessup.mp3Hollywood Tour 47-03-11 Guests - Mrs Larry Graves, Mrs CurtisJackson.mp347-03-12 Guests - Ethel and Betty Duncan.mp3Hop Harrigan 43-02-01 Cargo Plane Crash.mp3Horace Heidt Show 44-12-25 First Tune - The Santa Claus Express.mp3House Of Mystery 47-08-03 A Gift From The Dead.mp3Howard And Shelton For Royal Crown 41-xx-xx (75).mp341-xx-xx (80).mp3Hawthorne's Adventures 49-xx-xx Guest - Dennis Day.mp3Henn House, The 50-xx-xx Guest - Mitzi Green (Audition).mp3

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Hollywood Personality Parade 39-xx-xx.mp3Hoosier Hot Shots 50-10-07 First Tune - Jungletown.mp3xx-xx-xx (01) First Tune - Here Comes A Cheerful Rain.mp3n Your Own Words 55-04-14 The Ruth Kearns Story - pt 1.mp355-04-15 The Ruth Kearns Story - pt 2.mp3I Love A Mystery49-10-31 The Thing That Cries In The Night Pt 01.mp349-11-01 The Thing That Cries In The Night Pt 02.mp349-11-02 The Thing That Cries In The Night Pt 03.mp349-11-03 The Thing That Cries In The Night Pt 04.mp349-11-04 The Thing That Cries In The Night Pt 05.mp349-11-07 The Thing That Cries In The Night Pt 06.mp349-11-08 The Thing That Cries In The Night Pt 07.mp3ILAM 49-11-09 The Thing That Cries In TheNight Pt 08.mp349-11-10 The Thing That Cries In The Night Pt 09.mp349-11-11 The Thing That Cries In The Night Pt 10.mp349-11-14 The Thing That Cries In The Night Pt 11.mp349-11-15 The Thing That Cries In The Night Pt 12.mp349-11-16 The Thing That Cries In The Night Pt 13.mp349-11-17 The Thing That Cries In The Night Pt 14.mp349-11-18 The Thing That Cries In The Night Pt 15.mp3

Information Please 48-1-30 Guest - Helen Traubel.mp3Jack Burch And The Boys 44-10-13 First Tune - Are You Having AnyFun.mp3Jimmy Fiddler Show 51-05-21.mp351-05-22.mp351-05-23.mp351-05-24.mp351-05-25.mp351-05-28.mp351-05-29.mp351-05-30.mp351-05-31.mp351-06-01.mp351-06-04.mp351-06-05.mp351-06-06.mp31-06-07.mp351-06-08.mp351-06-11.mp351-06-12.mp351-06-13.mp351-06-14.mp351-06-15.mp351-06-18.mp351-06-19.mp351-06-20.mp351-06-21.mp3Jimmy Powers 49-08-07 Sports News.mp3Joan Davis Show, The 45-10-22 Recording Of Andy's Singing.mp346-05-27 (39) Joan Plans A Vacation (Re-hearsal).mp3Leave It To Joan 50-01-20 Guest - Al Jolson.mp3Lester Smith Commentary 49-08-08 Soviets Extending Rule Over Europe.mp3

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Love On The Line xx-xx-xx (01) Peggy calls up Paul to thank him (Audition 1).mp3xx-xx-xx (02) Peggy calls Paul to congratulate him on the big game (Audition 2).mp3xx-xx-xx (03) Peggy gets a call from Paul trying to talk her out of hating bankers (Audition 3).mp3xx-xx-xx (04) Paul calls up Peggy to tell her that he's tried to join the Navy (Audition 4).mp3xx-xx-xx (05) Paul tells Peggy about his uncleJoe who has spent time in the South (Audition 5).mp3xx-xx-xx (06) Peggy was kept after school be-cause of her accent (Audition 6).mp3xx-xx-xx (a1) Paul and Peggy talk about the biggame (Audition a1).mp3xx-xx-xx (a2) Aunt Prissy is upset About Pauland Peggy (Audition a2).mp3xx-xx-xx (a3) Paul has talked to Uncle Joe (Audition a3).mp3xx-xx-xx (b1) Aunt Prissy won't let Peggy go tothe football banquet (Audition b1).mp3xx-xx-xx (b2) Aunt Prissy doesn't like Paul be-cause he talks like a Yankee (Audition b2).mp3xx-xx-xx (b3) Paul and Peggy finally get to go tothe football banquet (Audition b3).mp3xx-xx-xx (c1) Peggy Calls Up Paul To Thank Him(Audition c1).mp3xx-xx-xx (c2) Peggy calls Paul to congratulatehim on the big game (Audition c2).mp3xx-xx-xx (c3) Peggy was kept after school because of her accent (Audition c3).mp3xx-xx-xx (c4) Paul calls up Peggy to tell her thathe's tried to join the Navy (Audition c4).mp3xx-xx-xx (c5) Paul tells Peggy about his uncleJoe who has spent time in the South (Audition c5).mp3xx-xx-xx (c6) Peggy was kept after school because of her accent (Audition c6).mp3ohnny

Desmond Show 49-11-13 First Tune - I Never See MaggieAlone.mp3Mark Trail 50-11-22 Poisoned Turkey.mp350-11-24 The Hawk Of Diamonds.mp3Martin And Lewis 53-xx-xx X Rated Commercial for 'TheCaddy'.mp3Meet Me At Owls 49-12-27 Drugstore is in Pasadena.mp3Murder By Experts 49-12-26 Case Of The Missing Mind.mp3Musical Moments 36-01-15 (116) First Tune - HawaiianMelodies.mp336-01-17 (117) First Tune - ItalianSelections.mp3Mutual Comedy Playhouse 49-11-10 The School For Scandal.mp3Mutual News 50-01-12 Winston Churchill Cuts Short Vaca-tion.mp3Notorious Tariq, The47-08-16 (01).mp3

Ona Munson Show 44-10-26 Hollywood Gossip.mp3Palace Personalities 50-02-21.mp3Phillip Morris Playhouse On Broadway 52-01-27 Princess O'Rourke.mp3

www.speakingofradio.comThis is Chuck Schaden’s web siteSpeaking of Radio, an oral history ofradio’s golden age. Conversationswith the stars who made if golden. Ihave listened to several of them, andthey were very enjoyable.

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